The Battle for Jalan Pudu

The following event (known as Bersih 2.0) took place on 9th July, 2011.

Location: Kuala Lumpur (Stadium Merdeka, Petaling Street, Jalan Pudu, Tung Shin Hospital)

Woke up before sunrise. Meet one ally, took the LRT together (saw a couple of cops before getting into the train). We got down at Pasar Seni station, it was unexpectedly smooth.

That went against everything we planned for the day before. We were counting on trains to be shutdown, internet cut off. I guess we were early enough for that to not happen yet.

By 9am we finished a large breakfast (not knowing if there will be lunch). We observed people around us, quietly playing "Tourist or Activist" among ourselves.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Kota Raya at 9am"]09072011392[/caption]

Meantime we are busy coordinating with friends on how to get into town and where to meet up. When you have an authoritarian government and the street looks like the above, you better watch yoself before you wreck yoself.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="180" caption="Petaling Street gets eerie"]09072011390[/caption]

When it gets too early, it's not easy to tell if people around us are in this with us together. We couldn't tell for sure this rally is gonna happen. We strolled around aimlessly playing more "Tourist or Activist".

At 10.30am five of us finally got together. One of us was an alumni of the first Bersih. At the rate it's going, Bersih 2.0 has got to be the five times as large. There is hope.

When the seats got hot enough, we got up and walked towards Merdeka Stadium.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Cops at Merdeka Stadium"]09072011406[/caption]

Cops were waiting. The first sign of real Bersih crowd. Small but hopeful. You can just tell from their faces. Plus the facts that cops were stopping a few guys, asking for credentials, getting their lockup trucks ready.

You know we are building momentum when the ice-cream man came by for a quick buck. Prem came and documented us, I documented him back.

But as moments went by, the group is not growing. It felt doubtful but no one is pointing it out.

And then someone decided to start the show with a bang. Display of power starts from afar. Show your might, instill fear. Why drive into the premise when you can make a grand entrance with beating drums.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Watch and learn, kids"]09072011420[/caption]

Weirdly so, there was nothing else after that. We kept waiting. Nothing.

And then we felt the roar.

The March of Defiance

We heard something that sounded like ambient noises from factories. I mean come on, is there that big a crowd? We went downhill to where we came from (which was empty) and found these party-crashers.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Petaling Street gets serious"]09072011436[/caption]

Now the party gets started. We joined the stream, and the shiznit is about to go down.

It's difficult to describe the feeling when you a see a parade of people flowing the street and it just wouldn't end. Unlike your lousy rave party where boozes are cheap and chicks play hard to get, these people came from all walks of life and are all there for the same reasons.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Pay attention to the kinda people you don't expect to show up in rallies"]09072011440[/caption]

Though at the point, we lost track of two allies. Three of us know they can take good care of themselves, so we let it be.

Also Merdeka Stadium ceases to be relevant at that instance. We don't know where the crowd is going, but the point is they are going. It's the journey not the destination. So what if we couldn't do Merdeka Stadium, there will always be another battle ground (more on this later).

We followed the flow and came to Maybank, Jalan Pudu.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="I'm not their fan, but at least Maybank is yellow"]09072011460[/caption]

The chanting goes on. Met some friends we didn't expect here. Crowds are saying hello to helicopters and LRT passing by. I changed my costume from blue to yellow.

Boy do they not know the Battle for Jalan Pudu is about to begin.

FRU red trucks started to appear. We were defiant. If any officer is saying anything, I couldn't hear it. I hope they weren't being polite else I woulda feel guilty.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="You can't have a real party without them"]image7[/caption]

I don't know about the rest but the more aggressive the cops were, the more excited I got. I bet the dude at the top of the truck saw a yellow middle finger formed by the crowd directed at them.

And so it goes down...

The Battle Started

They fired the first shot of water cannon followed by tear gas canisters (sorry no photos by me but I'm sure you saw plenty by now). Stampede followed.

This is the one and only time when people squeezed among themselves to run away. It felt like... how should I put it, KTM Komuter during rush hour. I don't know which is more insulting, the stampede Bersih got or slave-quality train people take daily.

The activists were cool. Many voices appealed for us to not panic and run slowly, and the crowd complied.

Tear Gas Mayhem

This is my first teargas attack ever, I got hit hard. The crowd was packed, I couldn't run fast enough. The gas hit my eyes, nose, throat and skin. It felt like an intense amount of chili powder gently and delicately rubbed onto every part of your exposed skin by Najib Razak.

I ran and slide into the basement of Pudu Raya, with every imaginable liquid flowing of my eyes, nose and mouth. I sat down and did what looked like grieving. Good thing I got a large bottle of water with me. I took it out and washed myself. One Malay came to me, and then another Malay lady. I gave them water to wash themselves. Another group beside me offered me salt. Nice.

I got up and walked along the basement. People are washing themselves with fire hoses.

And then I thought...

09072011477

I've lost my friends.

The Second Wave

I went out to the street and rejoin the party.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Coz I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd, I'm gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud"]09072011476[/caption]

No tear gas is gonna bring us down, and no way I'm gonna hide when the party rocking hard.

But the truth is, each tear gas probably dispersed a good percentage of the marchers and they never came back.

I called my friends several times but couldn't figure out where they were. I know they were good, so I spent these few waves by myself (in a manner of speaking).

At first we were far from the cops. They formed a chain and started marching towards the cops, I followed.

The second wave of tear gas came. This time there was canister in front and behind me. I could run straight back along Jalan Pudu but the crowd wasn't running fast enough. I would be trapped in gasses if I i run straight.

I found the only viable option, the infamous jumping off of a six-foot wall into Pudu Raya basement. Let's just say when I landed, I wished I took up parkour.

A Malay comrade offered me a hand and picked me up. Nice.

At this point I was half crippled. I slow stepped along that same basement of Pudu Raya. Being down there I get a glimpse of what's going on in this street. But watching feels more terrifying that being in it myself.

The cops got aggressive. They ran forward, chasing down activists with swinging clubs. Some tear gas canisters got hurled into the basement too.

When the wave is over, another large percentage of the activists were chased off never to come back.

Pre Tung Shin

I got out into Jalan Pudu again, this time the crowd was pushed much further back. We were lingering, not exactly sure what to do other than chanting and breaking into Negaraku.

It's moments like this when experienced rally leadership would help steer the troop. But amateurs we were.

There is no single leader who could really legitimately command the crowd. Ironic how it mirrors national level politics.

I continued walking away from the cops.

Drizzle started. Even the weather is on our side, since tear gas are not as destructive now that we got water.

I kept walking. They might have fired a few more canisters but I wouldn't know.

The Tung Shin Sacred Ground

I walked into Tung Shin Hospital, just in time for drizzles to turn into a heavy pour.

image10

Everybody is looking for shelter. We stood watching the rain, the cops and each other.

Many said the cops had gone crazy. But that's stating the obvious so I didn't join most of the conversations.

It didn't take the cops long to move in and fired another round at the hospital. The crowd panicked and move further into the hospital car park.

A guy with a loud hailer tried to calm the crowd, saying something to the effect of "do not worry, do not panic, this is a private property, the police has no rights to attack us here."

Guys beside me retorted with "dia mana ada kira punya?"

I got up to the outdoor car park opposite of AmBank. By now the street are almost devoid of activists. Everybody is guessing what happens next in what felt like a safe zone.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="From inside Tung Shin's car park"]09072011487[/caption]

If I were the cops, I'd be thinking: "Amateurs, I got you cornered."

It's A Trap

Things calmed down after some time. People got bored, so they went out of the hospital into the street. I followed.

It took some time before the street swelled into a sizeable crowd again. The numbers were not as dramatic as it was at Maybank, but we were still filling up the street.

A couple of politicians were talking to the cops. Over at my corner, someone announced that we've reach agreement with the cops to allow us to march to Jalan Duta. It will be alright if we stay peaceful.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Oh didn't you see it coming my friends"]09072011492[/caption]

It was hopeful. I reunited with my two friends. We waved to usher the rest of the folks hiding in Tung Shin to join us down here.

They came down, we got ready to walk again. We looked at the red trucks with anticipation. It's any minute now before they will move away and let us march forward.

The Clamp Down

Without warning, a new wave of tear gas got fired into the crowd.

Man I know both sides are amateurs here but pulling a Doctor Evil? How low can you go?

Fuck this, we got into full on panic mode and ran into the hospital car park again, crippled as I may be.

We got up to the same car park I was, watching the ground.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Shock"]image13[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="... and Awe"]image14[/caption]

Now it gets serious.

Here's another amateur anecdote. Had this not been a peaceful protest, we woulda have the upper ground advantage and these blue shirts woulda been toasted. They are taking the advantage of the fact that they can throw punches and we can't hit back.

You know, kinda the text book definition of bullies.

(From this point on I have no photos taken until it's over. Had I taken any picture I woulda pressed a hole in my camera. It's that tense.)

At this moment, the last wave of tear gas had pretty much dispersed the crowd into small patches. Only the most strong willed would stay on. I belonged to that group.

The Assault

The cops rushed in, making sure you see their intensity.

We were cornered at the top of the car park. Many activists resorted to climbing up the hill behind the hospital to escape.

Me and two friends did none of that. We stayed together, hands in chain.

With half up the hill, we were the last half of perhaps 40 people. It didn't look good, we were totally vulnerable.

We formed a human chain. I was in the third of four lines.

The cops had comparable headcounts. Since they get to attack and we don't, we know this is a no-win affair. But they didn't charge in right away. Our block looks formidable, so they watch from afar.

Our spirit only grew stronger. The Malay boys broke into war chants with Quran verses. I have no idea what they were chanting about but the beats felt powerful.

There were moments of standoffs. Both sides were probably not sure how to tackle this. Some of my group told those above watching to come down and join the 'fight'. It didn't work.

What the hell, if we go down, we down together.

The blue shirts stood up. They formed a line, shouted commands, and then charged towards us.

The line between heroes and villains was very very thin now.

Before the cops reached us, someone from up the hill hurled a gas canister aimed at the cops. There was a split second of hope.

But it did not deter them at all. We got right back into we-can't-believe-this mode.

The cops reached us. The brothers at the front-line got kicked and punched. No one hit back.

Our entire block got pushed back. Another stampede.

I fall onto the grass hill. My injured foot got sprained even further when the men pushed all their weight onto it. I let out a scream but quickly recovered with adrenaline.

Half my body was now buried by the bodies in front. A man tapped my shoulder and gave me a hand. (I hope I get to shake the man's hand again.)

It never occurred to me to run up the hill until that moment. Fuck this, I'm going to.

I took his hand. But I was too buried for him to pull me up. So I asked him to go.

Two seconds later I could move again. I found a sign post behind me and pulled myself up the hill. My foot hurt badly but there's no time to think.

I quickly look for my two friends. I managed to help one of them to pull himself up. He got up but lost both of his shoes in the process.

As he ran up the hill, I looked down again for the other friend. But it was too messy, I couldn't see where he was. In that span of half a second, another cop was standing up at the hill, five steps away from me. If I didn't scramble, all these woulda been in vain.

We climbed up the hill. To my surprise, no cops were after us. We came out on the other side dirty but unharmed.

We stayed there to catch our breath, change away our yellow shirt and walked down the hill to the other side of KL.

Now what are we gonna do with our one friend...

He Got Nabbed

We didn't see him getting nabbed. But we have to assume he was (and he did). And here's the trouble...

We didn't have his IC number, so lawyers can't help him.

We didn't know which police station will he be sent to.

His phone was dead after taking photos throughout the day. It's an Android motherfucker!

We kept walking and thinking. I called up a few friends hoping to pull his IC number so I can pass it on to a lawyer. I'm sure that put an ironic smile on their faces.

Before they've done so, I managed to pull his IC by going through old email attachment on my phone. It's an Android motherfucker!

Now the problem is figuring out where the cops were sending him to. Hell I didn't even see him get arrested; maybe he got away by pointing his finger to the east and ran to the west.

So we walked. We walked to a Shell, two lines of people sat by the side, looking worn out. My friend bought a bottle of water from a fridge that was emptied by fellow activists.

We sat down by the gas station contemplating at which point should we inform his parents. Having to involve his parent was so not cool.

So we talked. Maybe we shouldn't have escaped. What if. I don't know.

And then a familiar figure walked across the gas station. It was him!

He didn't get nabbed. I was jumped for joy coz I don't need to tell his parents and visit police stations.

The show was over; and we walked into the sunset together, end up in a spa, had hot bath, sauna and unlimited food.

No Retaliation

Some of my friends know I got enough to gung fu to take on a cop or two, so they asked if I managed to pull anything. But using it here would be foolish for a few reasons:

  1. It stops being a peaceful rally if a policeboy needs a new arm after a session with me.
  2. The cops were never close enough to me for any martial art to take place.
  3. If I do beat one up, there will be three more policeboys ganging up on me. Not cool.
  4. Either that or they gonna beat up my brother-in-arms even harder.

Rally is a mind-game baby. Democracy is not something you win with your fist. Very few things are.

But hang in there. Cop-boys are just following orders, in the same dogs are trained to bite. When you are holding an iPhone with a $50 app you don't use and the 23 year-old policeboy from Muar got the 7th baby coming in two months time coz he can't afford condoms, he got no time to ask you about what democracy means. You don't blame dogs who can't think for themselves.

Therefore police-brutality is really UMNO-brutality.

Victory

I wished more people get to turn up for Bersih but the movement succeed in showing a side of Malaysia that was never seen. That much alone is worth it.

It remains to be seen who won the Battle for Jalan Pudu. But it's one helluva party you can't buy with money.

See the full photo album